


As We Try to Recall

by Duchesse



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 18:51:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duchesse/pseuds/Duchesse
Summary: At a lowest moment, Nadia was there to help you through.[Countess Nadia | Reader].





	As We Try to Recall

“Forgive my rudeness, but it seems you’re unwell.”

You took your head from your hands, jolting up to fix your posture before the presence of the countess. She stood in the doorway, lithe fingers clutching the door firmly as she peeked her head inside. It had been your mistake to not fully close the door, yet even now you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

The curiosity slipped away from Nadia’s expression, eyes glinting in concern as she moved fluidly into your room, wordlessly locking the door behind her. You didn’t know whether to compare her to a graceful serpent with her languid movements, or a proud a bird as her strides carried her towards you. The sheer veils that draped across her body rippled as waterfalls in hues of green and violet.

“There’s no hiding anything from you, Coun–”

“Nadia.”

“ _Nadia_ ,” you remedied, clearing the congestion from your throat as continued with a brittle smile. “Always three steps ahead. Perhaps that’s what I admire about you.”

As though complimented by an ethereal being, Nadia’s defined chin seemed to tilt up and her chest pushed forward. Her crimson gaze settled on yours, though it lacked the conviction and confidence that you offered her. As her body came to sit next to yours, shoulders flush to one another, bejeweled fingers twined with yours.

“I fear you have the wrong idea of me, but I’m thankful for your words nonetheless. Coming from you, I can almost believe those words.” Nadia said in soft tones, the gold bands around her fingers warming the longer she touched you. “But, I didn’t come here for me. You’ve been out of sorts for a while now, what haunts you?”

You fixed your gaze to your threaded hands, tracing a thumb across the glimmering jewels before skimming her flesh. The issue was nothing new; it had been something you endured since you first came to awareness, words trapped in the void of your mind and dared not tumble from your lips. Since arriving at the palace, the myriad of happening had been a simultaneous blessing and curse.

“Everything is… so fast. I almost feel like I can’t keep up, Nadia,” you started, fidgeting beneath the intensity of her stare as she listened. “I feel like I’m much closer to understanding everything, yet I’m so afraid what it’ll mean.”

“I see…” Nadia nodded sagely, no doubt feeling your situations to be similar. “We have many unanswered questions that have only yielded more questions the more we’ve pursued them.”

“Yeah, part of me wonders… part of me wonders if it’s even worth finding out the truth, Nadi.” You explained, unwinding your fingers to release a frustrated sigh as you disheveled your hair. “I mean, I want to find out… but then, I get scared. Like, I almost feel like there’s something holding me back, something I can’t see.”

Nadia remained quiet, allowing only your voice to fill the spacious room as she smoothed her hands down your arms, reeling you closer to her until your crown came to rest beneath her chin and her arms cocooned your body. The warmth she enveloped you in stole away your worries, mostly from surprise, yet you felt as though this was her way of protecting you from the invisible entities that neither of you could see.

“I wish I could steal away your fear, everything that brings you sorrow. And yet…” Nadia’s voice drifted, her jaw set tightly and shoulders tensing as though recalling an unfavorable memory. “I cannot even confront my own weaknesses.”

“You’re so much stronger than me, Nadi,” you said, coaxing a raised eyebrow and glimmering curiosity in her eyes. “You’re trying to figure it out for more than yourself. You want to save your people, guide the city back to a Golden Age.”

“Ah, you have considerably more confidence in me than I do myself,” Nadia’s face took on something more somber, lips tugging down. “I’m fearful that perhaps the city may never comeback from this.”

“Don’t say that, I believe in you.” 

At your response, a deep red blossomed across her cheeks and her smile returned, lips twitching as they rose. She leaned forward and ghosted her lips across yours for the briefest moment, leaving a tingling sensation that lasted.

“Yes. We will confront these hardships and find the answers we seek.  _Together_.”


End file.
